Buoy-launching device



Aug. 19, 1930. H B. LAMBDIN BUOY LAUNCHING DEVICE,

Filed June 5, 1929 2 SheetsSheet 1 15: B. Jaznbdo'w.

Aug. 19, 1930. 4 H. B. LAMBDIN BUOY LAUNCHING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1929 illlllllllllllllllllll! .lllllllllllllllllli avw cute? HZZ-La nzbdz d triei ethe, buoys Another object a; casing adepte Patented Aug. 19, 1930 nowem i n AMBDIN, on IBALTIMQREQ MARYLAN AssrG'NoR- 0E ONE-HALF. '10 1 i terms-3; mmi-buy, "0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND I i rwqw e nlm uvwu Y:

i Thepfesent' invention is difected to Jimprevem'ents in devices for launching buoys.

' Theprimar y bjeet f the invention is'te' provide? a "device (if this eharectense eon- "graspthe same ne ans being preuiled to rebfthe 1 invention i ,to, provide a dev eeof. this ehai aeter so econst ucteed that a'preper oflicerjean control'jthe release, thereof frame reme'te point, as for instance; item the bridge of a VeSseIJ'Y' V i "1 Another. object Vide a devicieofflthis character ecinstrueted in such manner that 21- person standing heir thedevice can actuate the same to reiegisefthe buoys independently oi the remote; eontrol Anothenehject" of the'invention etaiq- Vide a device of this'ehamctei' iwhi'chinclu'des dto be secured togthe rail Of a ship at an" inclined. position in oi'der that whehyu e, buoy is rele'ased it, will clea rfthe side of the Vessel. i provide af devieefief this kind' wherein an Sti1l enother ebje'ct efjthe invention is :to

alarm will j be sounded simul'tztnebusl y'fwith the release Ofthe buoy, ihorde'nthafimmh'ersfolf the crew will 'be'notified as towvhich been" released so thatthey may to eetuate the lfejel for retrieving the buoye s s I I With theseand Other Objects in View, this intentioniesides' in. the novelfjfe atui'es ef censtruc'tlon', fqimzttion',eomb natien and arrangement "o'f parts ltd be hereinafter rnore b fullydese 'ibed', *clziimeql andfillustxfated the ac ceinpany'ingi drawings, in" which:

- :E ml ap w o the arrangement 'o fit 'he eent'eini ng, casa vessel showing ings.

e 45 s Figure is aiyiewofthe easing witfif the front weill thereo'fremevediof Ithe inventilon is (50" pro,-

en, a

Figure 3" is a fverticali trims verse siectienal View through the device; a 1

Figure 41s a seetio n 'l 'vlewo nfthie line of Figure 3.

Referring to' "the d r a'n vings, the numei'a l T 1 s designates a casing, formed bf suitable gauge sheet metal, saidfca'sing having-diametrically opposed bearings 2 formed in its fr o'n t and reat Walls 3 and Q Roller bearing [assem- -b1-ies "5 are i 4 i l Ounted in these bearin s "for supporting theends of the shaft 6 to w iieh a Ijeel 7 is V '1 ine 8.' Ilhisline is' secured th the buoy 9 normallyeontz ined ithin the easi g 1'. The line is'ef length to permit the hue? to float a c 0ns idei"eb1ed1stance immhe Vessel after the buoys is 'ele'a sed from the casing. and'eai s't ovefbdardk i i i v vThe]inhe'r'911d"of the shaft 6 is rovided' Witha squerefpOr'tiOn 10 to be engaged. by the ci'ank 11 tei eWih'l the line updn the reelin' order' that 'the buoy 'c anbe returned t9 -the*casing*eftei use. I a crank 11 is ret ained upon the inner Wall '4 Ofthehasing lay clips Band 13; and isfreadily removable for engagement'with the square b monioqf the shaft to fewitld the line uppne "theflreel; in I The'back l ofthe casingihas f xed.- thereto loops 14 for 'pivotelly engaging, the rail 15 of the ship: there being arms 16 eonneeted to thesides lfbitheeasingfsaidarms having their innerends provided with forks 18 for ab yien ag a su i c n mn 1- The arms 16am of siiehllengththat when the j fforks are engaged With the rail the c a's'ingg1 will; hegdisposed' in inclined felationwithlrel P fi t9 h lease f itwilli elear theside fthe lvessel.

. ED? STATES, {1

* Figure 51s a sectional View thi eugh, one? fixed, saidreel having Woundftherev- "eships rail so; that whnthfb o i gagement from the rail. The forks are disengaged from the rail when the vessel is docking in order that the casing can swing to a vertical position, thus preventing the same from contacting with any obstructions which might be present upon the dock. It will, of course, be understood that as soon as the vessel has left the dock, the casings are fixed in their inclined operative positions.

A trap door 20 is hingedly connected to the lower edge of the front wall 3, as at 21, therebeing a coil spring associated with the hinged connection and arranged to swing the door 20 when released, to the position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3; The door has fixed to its free edge a lug 22, the purpose of which will appear later.

A solenoid 23 is secured to the outer surface of the wall 4 by a band 24, the armature 25 thereof having a link 26 pivotally connected thereto, said'link being pivotally connected to the post 27. A latch bar 28 is pivotally connected intermediate its endsto the casing wall, as at 29, and itsupper end carries the post 27 which is pivotally connected to,

the link 26, there being a hook 30 at the lower end of said bar for normally engaging the lug 22 to retain the trap door 20 in closed position to sustain the buoy 9. r

The armature has one arm extending through a supplemental casing or housing 31 which is secured to the main casing wall, as shown to protect the solenoid and to this extended end is secured a chain .32 to permitlof manual operation of the armature when necessary.

Conductors 33 and 34 are connected to the solenoid, the conductor 34 leading to the bell 35, and leading from the bell to the switch 36 is a conductor '37. The switch obviously serves to close the circuit when engaged with the terminal of the conductor 38. Current is furnished to the solenoid and bell from the ships electricalplant. Obviously, when the switch is closed the solenoid will be energized, thus throwing the armature 24 inwardly, whereupon the latch bar 28 is swung so that the hook 30 thereof will disengage the lug 22', thusreleasing the trap door 20 to permit the buoy 9 to slide from the casing 1. .The bell 35 will sound when the circuit is closed and the solenoid energized, and in this manner the crew will be cognizant of which buoy hasbeen released in order to stand by and rewind the line upon the reel to retrieve the buoy in order that the person clinging thereto can be returned to the ship in safety. The switches 36 controlling release of the buoys are located on the bridgeof the vessel so that an oflicer can, upon being notified that a person is overboard, close the circuit to release one ormore of the buoys. Obviously, the buoy released will be one thatwill reach the person overboard in the quickest time.w V Should I person fall overboard: and ,be obis energized to served by a member of the crew or other person, the armature 25 may be manually operated by pulling upon the chain 32, thereby releasing the buoy without the necessity of notifying an oficer upon the bridge.

Rollers 33 are journaled transversely of the casing 1 to relieve friction when the line is being unwound or rewound upon the reel and to also prevent wear thereof.

As shown in Figure 1, eight casings are illustrated, arranged in groups of two upon each side of the vessel, but it will, of course, be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific arrangement and number of launching devices used.

The reelis protected bya hood 34 suitably fixed to the top of the casing 1.

7' From the foregoing, it is thought that the operation, and many advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages ofthe invention. 1 .What is claimed is:

1. A buoy launching device comprising a casing, a reel mounted in the casing, a line windable upon the reel, a door closing the lower end of the casing, a buoy mounted in the casing and sustained by the door, and combined means manually and electrically actuated to release the door to discharge the buoy from the casing, the

buoy being retrievable after release by winding the line upon the reel.

2.,A buoy launching device comprising a casing having a reel mounted therein, a line windable upon the reel, a spring actuated trapdoor closing the lower end of the casing,

a buoy mounted in the. casing and resting upon the door and connected with said line, a latch bar carried by the casing for holding the door closed, a solenoid carried by the casing and having itsarmature connected with the latchbar, and means-remote from the casing for energizing the solenoid to actuate thelatch to permit release of the door and the dischargeof the buoy from the casing. 3. A buoy launching device comprising a casing, a reel mounted therein, a door closing the lower end of the casing, a buoy normally supported upon the door, a line windable on the reel and connected with the buoy, a latch .bar mounted on the casing for normally holding the door closed, a solenoidhaving its armature connected with the latch for actuating the same to release the door when the solenoid permit release of. the buoy from the casing, and an audible signal adapted to be sounded when the solenoid is energized;

' i 4. -A buoy launching device comprising a casing, a buoy mounted in the casing, means for releasing the buoy from the casing, means for pivotally connecting the casing to the side rail ofa Vessel, arms pivotallyconnected with the casing for engagement with a rail to hold the casing in an inclined position, said arms being releasable from the rail to permit the casing to assume a ertical po- 'sition. n

L1 testimony whereof I affix my signature. HOWVARD B. LAMBDIN. [L. s.] 

